SEAL Team - Boarding Party - Review: Getting Better

The first thing I realized while watching this week’s episode was that I was fully engaged. Things are looking up and the show now, officially, has the time to grow into a great show.

The mission this week was fairly straightforward. So much so that they spent quite a bit of screen time letting us get to know more about Sonny. My uncles and grandfather were in the Navy, and I did ask one of them if you were required to know how to swim when you joined, so that scene struck a humorous cord with me.

Once the rescue was underway, I was a little surprised that they gave a featured extra quite a few lines in the sequence rather than giving them to Sonny.

I am beginning to itch for a primer. I thought Clay was trying to become a SEAL. Is my understanding correct that everyone in the class is a SEAL trying to get “certified” in a specialty? What is DEVGRU? What is Davis’ job title? I think she’s the logistics officer, but I’m not sure. And I still haven’t figured out specifically what a STRAP is; I understood in context, but what’s the acronym mean?

The burner phone story actually has me interested. I’m pretty sure that it’s not going to be the ‘other woman’ scenario, because disconnecting the number seems a bit much for a run of the mill mistress. It looks like the solution to this mystery may lead to an interesting multi-episode story.

I loved the scene in the church as they’re trying to get into Nate’s car. I chuckled when she asked about porno, because my second thought, when Alanna mentioned the phone, was men agreeing to clean out each other’s porn stash if anything happened to them.

Someone mentioned last week that it seemed like they were rushing Clay’s story. This week’s episode highlighted that issue for me. Clay’s “struggle” with being in the bottom five seems to have been handled in two scenes.

I would have been okay with that, but the relationship with Stella went equally fast. I think we were short changed by missing out on a courtship between these two.

As I was watching the episode, it occurred to me what story I would like for this show to tackle. I think it links back to one of my frustrations with the fact that they have dropped Jason’s emotional issues regarding Nate’s death (despite the fact that it has been mentioned in every ‘Previously on’ compilation so far.)

I really am okay with them dropping that story, but I would be interested in seeing how the healthy guys handle traumatically bad missions. We still live in a ‘shake it off’ world, but even the military realizes that’s not the healthy approach.

Usually we only get the stories where the soldiers (or cops, etc.) end up addicted to booze or drugs in the aftermath of a mission gone wrong. What do the guys who get through it and successfully return to (or never leave) work do? Do they communicate with their spouses? Do they just do therapy?

These guys work in a high stress world where their assignments are top secret; are they allowed to talk to their spouses about any aspect of their job? ‘It was a good day?’ ‘Today sucked. I need a hug.’ (yeah, I know that last one was very chick flicky of me. I apologize.) It seems like these questions may be at the crux of Jason and Alanna getting back together. At least I hope so.

In a show that advertises itself as covering life before, during and after a mission these questions could put a the show in a unique spot on the landscape.

Aside: Has anyone else noticed that Jason has a habit of getting up close on the monitors when they’re having a briefing? It was such an odd move in this episode that it drew my attention.

What were your thoughts on the episode? Now that they’ve gotten a full season pick up, are there any types of stories you’re hoping to see the show cover?